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China2
Joined: 04 Jun 2015
Posts: 56
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 Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 10:47 am Post subject: Devaluation of Chinese currency |
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| Has the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan had a significant effect on earnings and saving potential? I will be starting my teaching position in China in February and I am slightly concerned. |
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GreatApe
Joined: 11 Apr 2012
Posts: 582
Location: South of Heaven and East of Nowhere
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| Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:00 am Post subject: |
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I suppose the answer depends on your definition of "significant" ... it's certainly had an effect on sending money "home" or trying to pay off debt from your home country.
I send $2,000 USD back home every two or three months, so what used to cost me about 11,500 RMB now costs me about 13,000 RMB.
That definitely sucks and has an effect on my income and savings, but the C.O.L. in China (where I live) is still quite low, so it's still a high quality of life. Perhaps next contract I'll try to "adjust" for the weak Yuan, when it comes time to sign! 
--GA |
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JB140767
Joined: 09 Aug 2015
Posts: 135
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| Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 1:41 am Post subject: Re: Devaluation of Chinese currency |
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| China2 wrote: |
| Has the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan had a significant effect on earnings and saving potential? I will be starting my teaching position in China in February and I am slightly concerned. |
If this is a concern to you, you may want to reconsider your options because the devaluation is set to continue. I have read projections ranging from 6.8 usd to 7.2 usd by years end. I am gladly opposite to most people on here, being paid in GBP which I convert into RMB - I am a lifer. Having said that, this month has been horrendous for GBP, but the general trend is towards strengthening |
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CNexpatesl
Joined: 27 May 2015
Posts: 194
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| Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 8:16 am Post subject: |
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I wouldn't come here if I could do it all again.
The golden years of making big money in China (2012-2015) are coming to an end.  |
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asiannationmc
Joined: 13 Aug 2014
Posts: 1342
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| Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 9:23 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I have read projections ranging from 6.8 usd to 7.2 usd by years end. |
There is another thread on this subject, and yes it has caused many to worry bout their income reduction upon exchange... I am counting on it and hope to see that 7.2 as soon as fiscally possible... |
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China2
Joined: 04 Jun 2015
Posts: 56
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| Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Being paid in GBP. I have heard of that in Abu Dhabi in engineering, but never in EFL/ESL teaching . Teachers are almost always paid in the local currency. Could I ask which institution you teach at? |
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asiannationmc
Joined: 13 Aug 2014
Posts: 1342
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| Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| I worked for 10 years for a franchised program from a British University so FT's had a choice of dollars or BP. Sent by electronic transfer to the bank where a good bit of it remains in a foreign and RMB currency acct. For the last two years I worked as a consultant on Engineering Projects required for submission by the students and at that time i switched to USD. To be honest, I would not work for a Chinese university. |
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JB140767
Joined: 09 Aug 2015
Posts: 135
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| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 2:36 am Post subject: |
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| China2 wrote: |
| Being paid in GBP. I have heard of that in Abu Dhabi in engineering, but never in EFL/ESL teaching . Teachers are almost always paid in the local currency. Could I ask which institution you teach at? |
I work for a British university with international partnership with a Chinese university in Shanghai. I am on the British payroll and my salary is paid into a British bank. My previous employer was another Chinese university in GuangZhou who has many such partnerships. Their FTs came in two flavors - either employed by the Western institution (decent salary) or employed directly by the Chinese university with commensurate salary decline. I used to work for the latter in GZ and was offered a chance to transfer to the former in SH, which I obviously took.
I know a great many people on British GBP salaries, this year I am endeavoring to leave it where it lies as i strongly suspect the RMB is going to slump |
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China2
Joined: 04 Jun 2015
Posts: 56
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| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 8:25 am Post subject: |
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| I will be working for a joint British/Chinese university near Shanghai and I will be paid in Chinese Yuan. However, it is great to see that other options do exist though - thanks! |
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asiannationmc
Joined: 13 Aug 2014
Posts: 1342
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| Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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| I just spoke to a Chinese professor that teaches at the uni I worked for and he informed me that after I left the teaching staff, the international department at the Chinese Uni. took over hiring of staff positions due to demands of the Chinese program director. His demand was motivated (according to this Chinese professor) by the number of fails that resulted in classes run by FT's hired by the British university. In small talk over a beer, he told me that the results were many who should not have passed did and that salaries are now being paid in RMB and are lower. I severed my relationship with the British/Chinese university franchise program two years ago and have worked directly with the Brit. Uni. Engineering department but will fade from working in Education for the coming term concentrating on motorcycle projects. I have reached the end of the road on this chapter and it looks to be the right time, and the poster who said tht the "heyday" of the FT in China may be over may be right. Wish all a good Spring festival. I will go to Thailand on Feb 6 taking my girl with me as a present to her, kind of a buying and eating and relaxing trip then on to NOLA and back for the coming warmer riding season. |
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LarssonCrew
Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1308
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:38 am Post subject: |
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I still don't think that the heyday is necessarily over.
If you have lived in China a while you know what's expensive and what's cheap.
Think about this for a second, I was offered a job in an int program that include 16 hours of work a week for 18k plus a house[all bills included]
So my actual costs each month are:
Medicine 600
Phone 300[splurge on the big data package!]
Food and eating out and entertainment 3000 [I'm quite content to return home and cook/workout and then watch a movie on netflix[VPN!] or play a few games, I don't 'party.'
Except that what else is there? That runs at around 4000 a month.
I will of course do some online law work which pays $30-40 an hour and is casual, maybe ten hours a week.
So essentially my part time work will be my living money, and my salary will be entirely saved. All for 25 hours a week.
How many Americans can say they save $3000 and how many Brits say they can save around £1800 a month? Not many. |
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JB140767
Joined: 09 Aug 2015
Posts: 135
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| Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:02 am Post subject: |
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| LarssonCrew wrote: |
I still don't think that the heyday is necessarily over.
If you have lived in China a while you know what's expensive and what's cheap.
Think about this for a second, I was offered a job in an int program that include 16 hours of work a week for 18k plus a house[all bills included]
So my actual costs each month are:
Medicine 600
Phone 300[splurge on the big data package!]
Food and eating out and entertainment 3000 [I'm quite content to return home and cook/workout and then watch a movie on netflix[VPN!] or play a few games, I don't 'party.'
Except that what else is there? That runs at around 4000 a month.
I will of course do some online law work which pays $30-40 an hour and is casual, maybe ten hours a week.
So essentially my part time work will be my living money, and my salary will be entirely saved. All for 25 hours a week.
How many Americans can say they save $3000 and how many Brits say they can save around £1800 a month? Not many. |
this is the way to do it IMO My British salary is untouched since I started in Sept, likewise, I do about ten hours of extras (also, the FT gig averages out to 10 hours a week over the year), and the extras pays my living expenses, which are higher than yours it seems, but having a wife and liking beer may be a factor in that!
It's still only 20 hours a week on average at the end of the day.
For these two weeks I am doing FT at my part-time gig, as I will for several weeks in the summer. It sucks but pays a bundle, so gotta be done |
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CNexpatesl
Joined: 27 May 2015
Posts: 194
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| Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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It's a shame, really.
I knew guys that were making over $5,000 usd a month here. That'll probably never happen again. |
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Aristede
Joined: 06 Aug 2009
Posts: 180
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| Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| CNexpatesl wrote: |
It's a shame, really.
I knew guys that were making over $5,000 usd a month here. That'll probably never happen again. |
"Golden Age syndrome" has finally reached the China forum. It was just a matter of time. |
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The bear
Joined: 16 Aug 2015
Posts: 483
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| Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:34 pm Post subject: |
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| CNexpatesl wrote: |
It's a shame, really.
I knew guys that were making over $5,000 usd a month here. That'll probably never happen again. |
One thing I'm always wary of is the foreigner making a super high salary. I'm not saying it can't be done, I know it's possible, I've made quite bit myself but not quite as much as some of the claims you hear thrown around. 5K USD is around 30,000 RMB a month. It's not impossible, just unlikely.
Another thing is you have to be willing to put in the hours for that money. As in 30+ hours a week teaching. Factor in commute and prep and you'll soon see how that eats away at your time.
For me the good days are still here, partly because I arrived late to the party compared to some of you. 2011-2013, then returned after a year off. But...I've still got a job where I work, perhaps, 16 hours a week (during the 16 week semester), a free place to live, and can bank around $2,000 a month (but that's including a few hours of privates I do now and then). Not amazing but I only work around 16 hours a week or so (probably 18 if you add in the odd private class). Free time is important to me.
Though, for other people , if they are willing to put in the hours, stay and build connections (often overlooked - you can't just arrive and fall into making 30k/month), then, yeah, China's still possible. This will take a few years. HOWEVER, and this is a big "however", you could argue this time/investment could be better spent in the west, gaining skills or working away, where you could, again, save more and in the long run it may be more profitable than China. |
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